Narc is a 1988 arcade game designed by Eugene Jarvis for Williams Electronics and programmed by George Petro. It was one of the first ultra-violent video games and a frequent target of parental criticism of the arcade game industry. The object is to arrest and kill drug offenders, confiscate their money and drugs, and defeat "Mr. Big".
It was the first game in the newly restarted Williams Electronics coin-op division, and features their notable use of digitized graphics (later made famous in games such as Mortal Kombat). In fact, the quality of the graphics in terms of number of colors would not be surpassed until the game Mortal Kombat II (released in 1993). The game features what in arcade terminology is termed a medium resolution monitor – higher resolution than televisions and normal arcade monitors, although often in a smaller physical size. NARC was also the very first arcade game to utilize the TI TMS34010, which is a 32-bit processor. The game was also notable for the numerous voice samples used during and between levels.
The game's main characters are Max Force and Hit Man, who have received a memo from Spencer Williams, Narcotics Opposition chairman in Washington, D.C. dispatching them on Project NARC. Their mission is to apprehend Mr. Big, head of an underground drug trafficking and terrorist organization.
The player controls either Max Force or Hit Man, who shoot or arrest junkies, drug dealers and organized crime kingpins. Max and Hit are each equipped with an automatic weapon and a missile launcher. When an enemy is dispatched using the latter, they explode in a torrent of scorched and bloody appendages. Some enemies can be arrested after they surrender and then float away with "busted" over them, this is then added to a tally at the end of the level along with drugs and money confiscated from other enemies that they dropped when killed (the game actually awards more points at the end of a round for arresting enemies without killing them). The game's objective is to reach and destroy various drug dealing ringleaders.
Released
Jan 16, 1989
Also For
Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, NES, ZX Spectrum
Developed by
Williams Electronics Games, Inc.
Published by
Williams Electronics Games, Inc.
Setting
Contemporary
Visual
2D scrolling
Gameplay
Arcade, Shooter
Narrative
Crime
Perspective
Side view
Genre
Action
Description
Narc is a 1-2 player game, where your mission is to infiltrate the Mr. Big Corporation, the scourge of the underworld. To do this, you must get through the game's eight stages, with over ten sectors like the junkyard, subway, drug lab, nursery, downtown, Sunset Strip, and even the corporation, where Mr. Big resides. In order to get through the stages, you are required to collect a number of safe cards, and insert them in the slot next to the stage exit. Each sector includes a map, and should be easy to read. For example, the blue or red dots represent you, and the white dots are the missile launchers, while the "E" indicates the exit.
Your mission is not going to be easy, as you will come face-to-face with enemies including the canine mutts, Das Lof Gang, Dr. Spike Rush, Joe Rockhead, Kinky Pinky, Sgt. Skyhigh, HQ Posse, and Mr. Big himself. You have two ways you can deal with them: either put a bullet in them or make arrests. Furthermore, they will try to blow you up the minute they see you. Fortunately, you're armed with a shotgun and missile launcher, but these both have a limited supply of ammunition. If your bullet counter reaches one, you can only fire one bullet at a time, so you need to find some more. Also, it is important not to waste all of your missiles: you might need them later when you deal with later enemies like Mr. Big. You are also backed up by a chopper and a mean shiny street machine.
More often than not, when you blow up enemies, you can pick up several items that they drop, including drugs, money, ammunition, missile launchers, and if you're lucky, safe cards. Even if you got the safe card and can pass the level, you can keep blowing up enemies to score more points.
From Mobygames.com. Original Entry
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